Predictable Oscar nominations delivered, but with a few surprises

Thursday

Jan 16, 2014 at 5:49 PMJan 16, 2014 at 5:49 PM

By Al AlexanderMore Content Now

After months of anticipation, the Oscar race is officially on, and it’s a safe bet that the winner will emerge from among the terrific trio of “American Hustle,” “Gravity” and “12 Years a Slave.” They dominated Thursday morning’s announcement of the nominations for the 86th Academy Awards. “Gravity” and “American Hustle” led the way with 10 nods each, followed closely by “Slave” with nine.Nine was also the magic number in the Best Picture category, one short of the maximum 10. In addition to the three heavy favorites, the field includes the expected (“Captain Phillips,” “Her” and “Wolf of Wall Street”) and a handful of mild surprises in “Nebraska,” “Philomena” and “Dallas Buyers Club.” The shockers came in the acting categories, where such “locks” as Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Robert Redford, Oprah Winfrey and Daniel Bruhl were snubbed in favor of late-comers Christian Bale and Amy Adams from “American Hustle,” and fan-favorites Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill from the polarizing “The Wolf of Wall Street.” The biggest surprise, though, might have been Winfrey’s outstanding work in Lee Daniels’ “The Butler” being usurped by “Blue Jasmine’s” little-known Sally Hawkins.Also on the receiving end of so-called “snubs” were director Paul Greengrass (“Captain Phillips”), bumped by Alexander Payne (“Nebraska”), and actor Oscar Isaac (“Inside Llewyn Davis), whose fortunes plummeted along with the movie, which Oscar voters clearly did not like judging by its one measly nomination for cinematography. Nor did the Academy show any love for the late James Gandolfini, whom many thought might pick up a nod for his fine work in “Enough Said,” a widely acclaimed picture that was completely shut out.Everything else went exactly as expected, with Jared Leto (“Dallas Buyers Club”), an almost shoo-in, leading the supporting actor category, where he’ll be joined by newcomer Barkhad Abdi (“Captain Phillips”) and past nominees Michael Fassbender (“12 Years a Slave”), Bradley Cooper (“American Hustle”) and Hill.For supporting actress, frontrunner Jennifer Lawrence (“American Hustle”) is pretty much a cinch to pick up her second Oscar in two years. Not bad for a woman, who at the tender age of 23, will have two statuettes and can also boast of starring in 2013’s biggest moneymaker, “Hunger Games: Catching Fire.” If anyone is to bump her off, it’s newcomer and recent Yale grad Lupita Nyong’o from “12 Years a Slave.” But 84-year-old June Squibb, so hilarious in “Nebraska,” is clearly the sentimental favorite and could very well pull the upset. Julia Roberts (“August: Osage County”), getting her first nomination since winning for “Erin Brockovich,” and the surprising Hawkins round out the field.Other than the best picture competition, the real suspense will come in the packed actor and actress races, which are both wide open. Past winner Cate Blanchett once seemed like a lock for her work in Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine,” but now faces stiff competition from Adams (five nominations in the past eight years), who is riding the seemingly unstoppable momentum of “American Hustle,” which Oscar voters reportedly can’t rave enough about. But don’t dare count out Meryl Streep (“August: Osage County,” a record 18 nominations), Judi Dench (“Philomena”) and Sandra Bullock (Gravity”), Oscar-winners all.For best actor, the frontrunners are DiCaprio and his fellow Golden Globe-winner Matthew McConaughey (“Dallas Buyers Club”). But like Adams, watch out for Bale and the love for “American Hustle.” And like his “Nebraska” co-star, Squibb, 77-year-old Bruce Dern is going to win a lot of votes for scoring the year’s biggest comeback. Unfortunately, that leaves one-time frontrunner Chiwetel Ejiofor (“12 Years a Slave”) a victim of having peaked too soon.Rounding out the major categories is best director, where Golden Globe-winner Alfonso Cuaron (the wildly innovative “Gravity”) would seem a sure thing. But don’t dismiss David O. Russell (“American Hustle”), who like his four nominated stars (Bale, Adams, Cooper and Lawrence) could well ride his film’s surging momentum all the way to the podium. Not far behind is Steve McQueen, but given how much his “12 Years a Slave” has inexplicably lost steam, he’s really a darkhorse at best. As for Payne and “Wolf’s” Martin Scorsese, they will need to be satisfied with the old “it was a pleasure to be nominated” line.But you never know. There’s always the chance of a surprise winner or two, and we shall find out if that’s indeed the case when the Oscars air at 8:30 p.m. EDT Sunday, March 2, on ABC.